What's with the old crap?

So some friends asked, after looking at some of these vintage photo gear that I've been accumulating over the last twelve to fifteen months. I think to a lot of folks, especially in Singapore, where efficiency and productively is valued, old analog technology is discarded as fast as what new gadget/gizmo the big companies can dish out.

So... What's with the old crap?

My first camera was actually a small little 110 Kodak that my mum bought for me when I was about ten. It's a tiny, all manual, no frills camera and I was so proud of it. Being the sentimental fool that I am, I still have it today. When I was about twenty one or so, my dad let me played with his Canon AE-1 and that's when I got a bit more serious about photography, albeit that it's all film those days. Without the internet or money for books, I was pretty much a self taught one camera, one lens guy. Photography as a hobby phased in and out of my life, switched to digital in 2002 and at one point, almost dumped all my old film gear as I simply don't use them anymore.

Of course, the recent interest in rangefinder gear took me back into film photography as there's only really two digital RF option, the Epson R-D1 and Leica M8. Being the gear geek that I am, the foray into vintage M39 mount optics was a progressive development, and subsequently the old bottom loading cameras.

These old crap today are no less than what they were built for during their hey days. Some of them still produces fantastic images that rivals the lastest gizmo. But what exactly is their appeal? It's subjective of course, but to me, it's a system that takes time to achieve results. No Auto focus, no auto exposure, no exposure compensation. Full manual. If you don't know your basics, you don't get decent pictures. Period. That being said, the process as well as the final result are equally as enjoyable when you use these antique equipment.

So, one thing lead to another and now, I have a box full of old Canon Rangefinder gear. Junk to many, but to me, its a celebration of the photographic process as well as a reminder of a time where things were made to last and instant gratification weren't the order of the day.

Cheers,